


Night Owls

by AbsurdlyHappyAboutStorms



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Captain America: The Winter Soldier, One Shot, POV Second Person, Short One Shot, it's very very short, seriously
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-07
Updated: 2019-03-07
Packaged: 2019-11-13 13:06:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18032309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbsurdlyHappyAboutStorms/pseuds/AbsurdlyHappyAboutStorms
Summary: The reader has a very brief meeting (if it can be called a meeting) with Bucky in a gas station shortly after the events of The Winter Soldier.





	Night Owls

It was unseasonably warm as you made your way across the smooth pavement. A dirty blueish light buzzing like a cicada on the side of the building only drove the feeling home, reminding you of a muggy July. The cinderblock walls were painted a waxy-looking white that caught the light of the gas pumps, but there were no cars. Not at this time of night.

You shifted the weight of your purse as you stepped inside, a bell ringing overhead. The cashier only looked up from his magazine for a second, but you caught his eyes flick toward someone else in the store. Dark, shoulder-length hair. Downturned head and heavy coat. He was tall and easily visible over the shelves. You quickly made your way down a different aisle to the back.

Glass clinked together as you pulled down a bottle, unbelievably loud in the quiet. Almost welcome, really, but not quite. It was one AM and somehow you three found yourselves in a gas station together just off a quiet road. You softened your steps unconsciously as you came back to the snacks, to the overdressed night owl. He glanced over at you, seeming to size you up for a split second, before looking back to the assortment of crackers in front of him. He hadn't moved since you first saw him. Eh. It's hard to make decisions this late at night.

For a moment you stood beside each other looking over the glossy, crinkly bags in primary colors. Who did they think they were selling to? Three year olds? He stiffened when you took your pick and you couldn't help looking up at him, at the healing scratches and old bruises on his face.

"Excuse me," you murmured, hurrying back to the counter.

When he met your eyes something seemed off. The look wasn't startled at all. Just dispassionately calculating.

You set your things on the counter and began looking through the selection of cigarettes on the wall, pointing one out to the cashier as you searched for your wallet. The sound of the scanner pierced the air. You laid some cash on the counter. And he was right behind you. Even the cashier seemed startled, hands faltering as he opened the register. He was so quiet. You couldn't help thinking it. _What's under that coat in this weather?_

With cold fear pooling in your stomach, you took your receipt. Walked out the door... unbothered. You even stole a glance back through the iron grating on the door but the cashier looked no worse than intimidated as the man set some cash on the counter. Damn. And now you felt bad for assuming the worst of him. Still, you checked your pocket for your phone to shake the uneasiness. At the corner of the building your bottle clinked on the concrete and you sank against the wall. Lighter clicked. Embers flared at a deep breath.

It wasn't a minute before the bell rang again. You saw him through a trail of smoke, stiffening as he walked past. _He's just walking home._ Right? In the darkness on the other side of the neighboring lot was a long chain link fence weighed down with vines and plastics blown in off the road, behind it a row of houses. You would walk down the same broken sidewalk to your house. But a sound drew your eyes to the ground. There was a wallet laying next to you. You started to get his attention until you got a good look at it. It was yours. He didn't look back.


End file.
